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While cleaning up and renovating the T-Rex plaza, mall manager and part-owner Ted Jafvert also opened a business there.

Outlet Sales of Dickinson opened in the south side of the T-Rex plaza in north Dickinson.

“We decided to do this as a sideline and we’re doing so well,” Jafvert said. “I worked with a guy in Iowa that had (an outlet store) and I knew how well it went down there and this town needed something like that.”

The business, which opened in November, has a wide range of products “from stuff seen on TV, all the way down to silk flowers,” said Chantel Ansah, Jafvert’s daughter who works at the business.

Ansah said she likes working at the store and has purchased some merchandise from Outlet Sales for her apartment.

“We’ve got just about everything you can think of,” Jafvert said. “I think people are surprised at the variety they get here.”

Some outlet stores sell used items, but everything sold at Outlet Sales is new and not damaged, Jafvert said.

“We uncrate everything and put it together. If there’s parts missing or it’s damaged or whatever, we won’t put it out,” Jafvert said. “We don’t want them to take it home and have surprises.”

Ansah said people who come into Outlet Sales are often surprised by the prices.

“They also compare the prices to like Wal-Mart and Kmart,” Ansah said.

Jafvert said buying in bulk by the truckload keeps prices very low. People save from 40 to 60 percent on his merchandise, he said.

“We’ve been doing real well,” Jafvert said. “All our recliners and chairs and stuff, we sold them all out already and we had to get more in.”

Jafvert is also expanding his distributors.

“We’ll be more diversified and we’ll be able to get a lot better prices for people,” Jafvert said.

Since each truckload that comes into Outlet Sales contains different new items, the merchandise at the store will always be changing.

“We’re always unpacking. Always,” Jafvert said.

Jafvert plans to continue updating T-Rex Plaza and recruiting businesses to move in while operating the outlet store.

Outlet Sales of Dickinson is open 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. To contact Jafvert, call 701-483-7092.

Tags: news, outlet, sales, business